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![Copper Queen Smelter Douglas AZ.JPG - SOUVENIR MINING SPOON COPPER QUEEN SMELTER DOUGLAS AZ - Sterling mining souvenir spoon with an embossed scene of the historic C. Q. SMELTER DOUGLAS, ARIZ. in bowl, the handle has a blue enamel swastika at the top with SWASTIKA marked down the handle, spoon measures 5 5/16" long and weighs 17.2 g., reverse marked Sterling along with hallmark of P&B in hearts for Paye & Baker of North Attleboro, MA who made silver spoons from 1901-c1930, back marked with name Thelma D. Shafer [Douglas, Arizona was founded as an American smelter town, to treat the copper ores of nearby Bisbee, Arizona. After 20 years smelting ore at Bisbee, the Phelps Dodge Copper Queen mine realized the need for a new smelter. A site for a new and larger smelter right on the border with Mexico was selected in the wide flat prairie of the Sulphur Springs Valley that had long been used by cattle ranchers. Private developers with an inside tip bought up the range land and laid out city streets in 1901, selling lots to smelter workers and businesses. The town was named after mining pioneer and Phelps Dodge President Dr. James Douglas (1837-1918) and was incorporated in 1905. Phelps Dodge created the El Paso & Southwestern Railroad to haul ore from Bisbee and connect Douglas with El Paso. The Arizona & Southeastern railroad connected Douglas with copper mines at Nacozari, Sonora and Deming, New Mexico. Construction of the new Copper Queen Smelter began in 1900 and an enlarged operation was complete by 1904, after which the Bisbee smelter was closed. Meanwhile in 1903, Bisbee’s Calumet & Arizona Company built its own smelter next to the new Copper Queen works. The valley filled with smoke and pockets filled with money. The Copper Queen operated in Douglas from 1904 until 1931, when the Phelps Dodge Corporation purchased the Calumet and Arizona Company and took over their smelter abandoning the Copper Queen Smelter. When both smelters were operating, with ore coming by rail from Ajo, Bisbee and Nacozari, Douglas produced half of the copper in the state. Phelps Dodge continued to operate the enlarged Calumet & Arizona smelter although the collapse of copper prices and economic depression led to declines from 1931 to 1938. By the beginning of World War II miners were back to work and the remaining smelter was in full production. The Calumet and Arizona smelter then became the Douglas Reduction Works. Industrial globalization beginning in the 1980s brought an end to copper production at Douglas. The Phelps-Dodge Corporation Douglas Reduction Works closed in 1987. The smoke stacks of the smelter were not taken down until January 13, 1991. An unusual aspect of this spoon thought to be made ca. 1910 is the use of the swastika symbol on the handle. One of the oldest symbols made by humans, the swastika dates back some 6,000 years to rock and cave paintings. It’s generally agreed this ancient symbol of life and prosperity originated in India with the emergence of the Sanskrit language. The swastika is an important symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism, among others, and was also used in Native American and Jewish faiths into the early twentieth century as a symbol of good luck and auspiciousness. The swastika was a widely used Native American symbol. It was used by many southwestern tribes, most notably the Navajo. Among different tribes the swastika carried various meanings. To the Hopi it represented the wandering Hopi clans; to the Navajo it represented a whirling log, a sacred image representing a legend that was used in healing rituals. Interestingly, the symbol for the 45th Infantry Division of the United States Army, before the 1930s, was a red square with a yellow swastika, a tribute to the large Native American population in the southwestern United States. Because of the stigma attached to its use by Nazi Germany, the swastika since the 1930s has been largely associated with Nazism and hate supremacy in most Western countries. As a result, all of its use, or its use as a Nazi or hate symbol is prohibited in some countries, including Germany.]](Copper Queen Smelter Douglas AZ.JPG) |
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| Copper Queen Smelter Douglas AZ | SOUVENIR MINING SPOON COPPER QUEEN SMELTER DOUGLAS AZ - Sterling mining souvenir spoon with an embossed scene of the historic C. Q. SMELTER DOUGLAS, ARIZ. in bowl, the handle has a blue enamel swastika at the top with SWASTIKA marked down the handle, spoon measures 5 5/16" long and weighs 17.2 g., reverse marked Sterling along with hallmark of P&B in hearts for Paye & Baker of North Attleboro, MA who made silver spoons from 1901-c1930, back marked with name Thelma D. Shafer [Douglas, Arizona was founded as an American smelter town, to treat the copper ores of nearby Bisbee, Arizona. After 20 years smelting ore at Bisbee, the Phelps Dodge Copper Queen mine realized the need for a new smelter. A site for a new and larger smelter right on the border with Mexico was selected in the wide flat prairie of the Sulphur Springs Valley that had long been used by cattle ranchers. Private developers with an inside tip bought up the range land and laid out city streets in 1901, selling lots to smelter workers and businesses. The town was named after mining pioneer and Phelps Dodge President Dr. James Douglas (1837-1918) and was incorporated in 1905. Phelps Dodge created the El Paso & Southwestern Railroad to haul ore from Bisbee and connect Douglas with El Paso. The Arizona & Southeastern railroad connected Douglas with copper mines at Nacozari, Sonora and Deming, New Mexico. Construction of the new Copper Queen Smelter began in 1900 and an enlarged operation was complete by 1904, after which the Bisbee smelter was closed. Meanwhile in 1903, Bisbee’s Calumet & Arizona Company built its own smelter next to the new Copper Queen works. The valley filled with smoke and pockets filled with money. The Copper Queen operated in Douglas from 1904 until 1931, when the Phelps Dodge Corporation purchased the Calumet and Arizona Company and took over their smelter abandoning the Copper Queen Smelter. When both smelters were operating, with ore coming by rail from Ajo, Bisbee and Nacozari, Douglas produced half of the copper in the state. Phelps Dodge continued to operate the enlarged Calumet & Arizona smelter although the collapse of copper prices and economic depression led to declines from 1931 to 1938. By the beginning of World War II miners were back to work and the remaining smelter was in full production. The Calumet and Arizona smelter then became the Douglas Reduction Works. Industrial globalization beginning in the 1980s brought an end to copper production at Douglas. The Phelps-Dodge Corporation Douglas Reduction Works closed in 1987. The smoke stacks of the smelter were not taken down until January 13, 1991. An unusual aspect of this spoon thought to be made ca. 1910 is the use of the swastika symbol on the handle. One of the oldest symbols made by humans, the swastika dates back some 6,000 years to rock and cave paintings. It’s generally agreed this ancient symbol of life and prosperity originated in India with the emergence of the Sanskrit language. The swastika is an important symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism, among others, and was also used in Native American and Jewish faiths into the early twentieth century as a symbol of good luck and auspiciousness. The swastika was a widely used Native American symbol. It was used by many southwestern tribes, most notably the Navajo. Among different tribes the swastika carried various meanings. To the Hopi it represented the wandering Hopi clans; to the Navajo it represented a whirling log, a sacred image representing a legend that was used in healing rituals. Interestingly, the symbol for the 45th Infantry Division of the United States Army, before the 1930s, was a red square with a yellow swastika, a tribute to the large Native American population in the southwestern United States. Because of the stigma attached to its use by Nazi Germany, the swastika since the 1930s has been largely associated with Nazism and hate supremacy in most Western countries. As a result, all of its use, or its use as a Nazi or hate symbol is prohibited in some countries, including Germany.] |  Original Image |
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